Antonio Brown says his trade situation will ‘probably never be done again’ but he's wrong

NFL owners are clearly scared: the players are gaining power.

Antonio Brown pulled off a maneuver that’s become common in the NBA and MLB but has been entirely uncommon in the NFL. Brown forced his way off the Pittsburgh Steelers with such a tenacity that they were left to take an unsatisfactory trade package from the Oakland Raiders.

Brown’s move seemed to mark a paradigm shift in the NFL, with a player taking complete control of a trade situation in a league which has a history of giving its players little power. Just look at how NFL contracts, which generally have a deceivingly small amount guaranteed money, pale in comparison to those in the MLB, where every dollar of a contract is guaranteed.

During a sit-down meeting with Complex, Brown discussed the unique situation he created in Pittsburgh.

“I don’t think the NFL is changing. I don’t feel like it’s getting better. The thing I was able to do was unprecedented. It’ll probably never be done again,” Brown told Complex. “For me to be able to have the same contract, and not even add a year, just add more money, I don’t think that had ever been done.

“For me, it’s all about changing the game and being dynamic and doing things that have never been done before. I’m just grateful that me and my team, Drew Rosenhaus, the great people I have in my corner, we was able to do something special that’ll probably never be done again. I think what it has done is really inspire players to take hold of their situation, run business better, make business boom, and do the right things in regards to your circumstance. So at the end of the day you can be in the best position.”

Just two days after Brown joined the Raiders, receiver Odell Beckham Jr. joined the Cleveland Browns in a trade. And guess what he wanted? Beckham wanted exactly what Brown got, according to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport.

Since joining the Browns, Beckham has not received a new contract, which means that Brown’s situation remains unique. But the fact that the two similar transactions came within days of one another showed that stars have more power in the NFL. And even if Beckham’s new deal comes next offseason, he has still effectively worked the trade market to get more money, much like free agency.

This sort of situation is not totally novel for the NFL. After all, Eli Manning famously finagled a draft day trade when he refused to play for the then-San Diego Chargers. The Chargers drafted him in 2004 but traded him to the New York Giants for Philip Rivers, because Manning didn’t want to work for San Diego.

Brown’s trade also came in an offseason when running back Le’Veon Bell got a large contract after sitting out of a year in an effort to avoid playing for Pittsburgh on the franchise tag.

Players are clearly emboldened to use whatever leverage they have, and NFL owners and executives seem to respect and fear that newfound player power.

Here’s what ESPN reported about:

Multiple high-ranking sources at the NFL owners meetings told ESPN that Brown forcing his way out of a contract with three years left might set a precedent that players can do what they want. One source went as far as to say that Brown essentially treating himself like a free agent, then getting a new deal with Oakland via trade, is “dangerous” for teams expecting players to honor contracts.

That last sentence is hilarious in its hypocrisy: A team fears that a player won’t honor his contract. Players are probably frustrated because teams and owners have chosen not to honor contracts for decades. Teams won’t fully guarantee major contracts, which allows them to restructure a deal or cut a player when his sum grows to a place where the team decides that player is expendable. Teams will also backload contracts, with the salary growing hugely in the final years of the deal. But, of course, the team makes the contract with the knowledge that they’ll cut that player before he gets to those years to earn that big money.

Brown found a way to give the owners a taste of their own medicine. Now, they’re worried they’ll get more. Because Brown had so much success in his move — jumping from the Steelers to the Raiders and spurning the Buffalo Bills in process, much like a free agent — players will likely try to recreate Brown’s situation. And unhappy superstars, when they’re as talented as Brown, may use their high profile to find a more desirable team.

It’s about leveraging star power, just like NBA players have done.